During the FSA’s ninth cryptocurrency study group meeting last week, officials discussed regulatory measures for cryptocurrency wallet services, including the maintenance of internal control systems, management of cryptocurrencies belonging to the service providers and customers,

Japan-based Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), the world’s fifth-largest financial institution, has partnered with Brazil’s Banco Bradesco to develop a cross-border payments service based on Ripple’s blockchain technology.

The two banks signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to create cross-border payments between Japan and Brazil.

Japanese IT firm Fujitsu has been selected by the Japanese Bankers Association (JBA) as an application development vendor for a field trial exploring the potential use of JBA’s Collaborative Blockchain Platform.

The Collaborative Blockchain Platform was established by JBA with the goal of generating and sharing knowledge relating to blockchain and distributed ledger technology.

Masayoshi Amamiya, deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, the country’s central bank, said that the BOJ has no plan to issue cryptocurrencies that can be widely used by the public for settlement and payment purposes.

Blockchain backer Takuya Hirai has been appointed as Japan’s Minister of Science, Technology, and IT, a cabinet position.

Hirai, one of the composers for the Japanese law legalizing and regulating crypto exchanges, will oversee official government policy towards financial technologies. He was formerly chairperson of the Liberal Democratic Party’s IT Strategy Special Committee,

Japan-based social messaging platform Line is planning to launch five new decentralized apps (dApps) on its custom blockchain platform. The company will also begin offering its own digital token LINK (for markets outside Japan) from its global digital asset exchange BITBOX starting October 16.